Representation before the Superintendent of Land Registration

When to apply to the Superintendent

• When an apartment owner does not pay house committee charges or their share of repairs to the common property.
• When a neighbour takes over part of the common property: the stairwell, the roof, the yard or a parking space.
• When there is a dispute over an attachment of property to an apartment, over the bylaws or over a resolution of the general meeting.
• When an apartment owner refuses works on the common property under TAMA 38 and a two-thirds majority has been obtained (section 5 of the Land (Reinforcement of Condominiums against Earthquakes) Law, 5768-2008).
• When the house committee needs to act against an apartment owner on behalf of all the residents.

How the work proceeds

1. Review and documents. The Land Registry extract, the condominium registration order, the bylaws and the plan, and the minutes of meetings. Together they build the picture: what is registered, what was resolved and what the position is on the ground.
2. Approach and attempt to settle. A properly drafted letter to the other side and an attempt to reach a settlement. In a dispute between neighbours who will go on living in the same building, a binding settlement that also governs the future is sometimes the better solution.
3. Claim before the Superintendent. Drafting the pleadings and attaching the evidence. Both an apartment owner and the house committee may file a claim (section 73).
4. Hearing, decision and enforcement. Conducting the hearings and examinations of witnesses. The Superintendent's decision is enforced like a court judgment (section 76), and it may be appealed to the District Court (section 77).

A dedicated forum for condominium disputes

The Superintendent of Land Registration has jurisdiction to hear disputes between the owners of apartments in a condominium, and between them and the house committee. It is a professional judicial body devoted to precisely this kind of dispute, so proceedings before it are usually faster, more focused and less costly than equivalent proceedings in court.

That focus matters: the Superintendent is familiar with condominium bylaws, with the law of common property and with the dynamics between neighbours, and does not have to learn the field afresh in every case.

The issues that come before the Superintendent

• Common property: taking over common areas, enclosing the stairwell, exclusive use of the roof or yard, and attachments that were not lawfully registered.
• Building management: house committee charges, collecting debts from residents, resolutions of residents' meetings and their validity, and appointment of the house committee.
• Construction and renovation: additions built by a neighbour, balconies, lifts, air conditioning and the nuisances they create.
• Nuisance and damage: damp originating in another apartment, noise, smoking and recurring nuisances.
• Urban renewal: claims concerning holdout owners in TAMA 38 and evacuation and reconstruction (pinui binui) projects, and disputes between residents and the developer.
• Amending the condominium order: discrepancies between the registered position and the actual position.

The advantage of professional representation

Proceedings before the Superintendent are simpler than ordinary civil proceedings, but they are still judicial proceedings: there are pleadings, evidence, testimony and cross-examination. Success depends on an orderly presentation of the right documents, above all the condominium extract, the bylaws, the minutes of residents' meetings and documentation of the nuisance or the debt.

At the same time, many neighbour disputes are better resolved by settlement than by judgment, because the parties will go on living in the same building. Drafting a binding settlement that governs the future, and not only the past, is sometimes the best outcome.

Holdout owners and urban renewal

In TAMA 38 and evacuation and reconstruction (pinui binui) projects, the Superintendent is the forum that hears claims against an apartment owner who refuses to join the project, and decides whether the refusal is reasonable in the circumstances of the case. The firm acts in these cases on both sides: for residents seeking to advance a project, and for apartment owners who have substantive grounds to oppose it.

How we assist

The firm represents apartment owners, house committees and groups of residents before the Superintendent of Land Registration: gathering the documents, drafting the pleadings, conducting the hearings and examinations, and, where appropriate, negotiating a settlement out of court.

What to bring to the meeting

• Land Registry extract for the apartment and for the condominium.
• The condominium registration order, the bylaws and the plan.
• Minutes of meetings and resolutions of the house committee.
• Payment demands, invoices and receipts.
• Photographs of the situation on the ground.
• Correspondence with the other side.

Timeline and cost

Timetable: at the first conversation you receive an initial assessment of the situation. If the documents are sent in advance, the assessment is better informed. The length of proceedings before the Superintendent depends on the schedule of the Superintendent's office in the region. The deadline for appealing the Superintendent's decision is set by the regulations, so it is important to get in touch as soon as a decision is received.

Cost: the fee is set in a written fee agreement after the case has been reviewed. Court fees, expert opinions and other expenses are paid separately.

The Superintendent of Land Registration or a court

Contact us to review your dispute

If you are involved in a condominium dispute, it is worth checking early which forum to proceed in and which documents are required. We will be glad to hear the details and explain the options.